Posted: Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:25 PM - 10,900 Readers
By: Rick Cantu
If Cedar Park goes from a Class 5A high school to a 4A one, who will the Timberwolves consider their chief rival? And could Cedar Park become a 4A football power in the mold of Lake Travis?
Will Pflugerville and Connally continue to be grouped with Austin schools or return to a suburban district ?
Will varsity football at Eastside Memorial — formerly Johnston High — come back to life just two years after the school was closed and reopened because it was rated academically unacceptable?
These are among the questions facing Central Texas high schools — and their coaches and athletes — as the University Interscholastic League prepares to unfold its latest blueprint for realignment and reclassification. The purpose of the plan is to ensure geographic and competitive equity among UIL-member schools.
The process affects all of the state's 1,300-plus public high schools. Veteran coaches, such as Liberty Hill's Jerry Vance, say they no longer predict where their teams might land.
"Only the UIL and their geniuses know for sure," said Vance, who has been the Panthers' football coach for nearly a decade.
With that in mind, here are six story lines that figure to surface Monday when the UIL announces the results of realignment and reclassification :
The 4A clubBeginning this fall, Lake Travis-Cedar Park might be a district matchup in football, rather than a non-league appetizer.
Cedar Park's imminent switch from 5A to 4A — based on the enrollment figure the school submitted to the UIL — will change the landscape of area competition. As a result of the recent high school openings in the area, Cedar Park's reported enrollment dipped from 2,323 in 2008 to 1,989 in October, prompting the expected move. If the change is made, the Timberwolves will bid farewell to longtime Class 16-5A opponents Round Rock, Georgetown, Westwood and McNeil.
Cedar Park and Vista Ridge, which likely will return to 4A after two years as a 5A school, will be joined by two newcomers to varsity high school football — Vandegrift and Rouse. The changes will give teeth to area 4A competition, which already includes three-time state football champion Lake Travis, Dripping Springs, Hutto and Hendrickson.
We bearly knew 'emBastrop will not be defending its District 25-5A football co-championship in 2010.
The Bears also won't have a repeat of last season's thrilling 24-21 victory over Westlake, the hallmark game of their 9-2 season.
Bastrop, like Cedar Park, is downsizing because a new school has sliced into its enrollment. With the opening of Cedar Creek High, Bastrop's reported enrollment dropped from 2,421 in 2008 to 1,840.
Moving down to 4A will benefit Bastrop's athletic department, Bears football coach Gerald Perry said.
"We'll match up better against our opponents in the numbers game," Perry said. "Our kids have worked extremely hard to be competitive and successful at the 5A level, so I would imagine the kids will have a lot of confidence in 4A."
Perry expected Bastrop to be grouped with other area 4A schools, such as Manor, Elgin, Lockhart, Hays and Lehman, to form a six-team district.
On the flip side, Del Valle, which has competed in District 17-4A for the past two seasons, likely will jump to 5A.
The Pflugerville shufflePflugerville's coaches are preparing for a possible move out of the district the Panthers joined just two years ago.
That's because Pflugerville and crosstown rival Connally, which reside in 25-5A, along with such teams as Westlake, Bowie and Austin High, might be switched to more familiar territory.
With Cedar Park and Vista Ridge bolting from 16-5A, Pflugerville becomes a likely candidate to take one of those slots. Pflugerville was a success in that district before being shifted to 25-5A in the UIL's 2008 realignment.
"One of my biggest concerns is over what region we'll be in," said Nancy Walling, the Panthers girls basketball coach. "Since I've been here, we've been in every region, so it makes it exciting to know that we might be looking at a different road during the playoffs — if we should be so fortunate."
Connally, a 5A school the past two years, appears on track for a return to 4A. Connally reported an enrollment of 2,028 — down from 2,094 two years ago.
Still at home in 4ALake Travis will make the shift from 4A to 5A — well, maybe in 2012, or perhaps further into the future.
On the heels of the continued success of the school's athletic program, Lake Travis' enrollment also continued to expand . The school, which reported 1,751 students in 2008, turned in a figure of 1,916 for the 2010 realignment, well below the 5A cutoff, which is expected to be about 2,100.
A recent demographic study suggested that the Lake Travis school district will not need to build another high school until 2019 or later, said Marco Alvarado, district spokesman.
"Given a choice, I'd like our school to remain in a six-school (athletic) district just because of the success of our football team," boys basketball coach Jan Jernberg said. "Being a state champ in football — and playing in a six-team district — we've still got the opportunity for our football players to have a few weeks to prepare for district (basketball) games."
Playing in a small district, Jernberg said, allows Lake Travis to begin district competition after the Christmas holidays, enough time for football players to adjust to the basketball season.
Welcome backThe mascot is different and the uniform colors have changed, but the school formerly known as Johnston High is back. Now competing for Eastside Memorial, the Panthers — formerly the Rams — will join former Class 4A area rivals LBJ and Reagan this fall.
The school is rebounding after being closed by the state in June 2008 for repeatedly failing to meet academic standards. On the football field, former Johnston coach Demo Odems, now at LBJ, was forced to forfeit four straight games during the 2007 football season because his team's roster was so depleted by injuries and academic suspensions.
Now under the direction of head coach Darrell Crayton, Eastside's football team will compete on the varsity level after two years as a JV squad.
Eastside enters the new year with a glimmer of hope . All but three of the football players who helped the Panthers go 6-3 in the fall will return in 2010.
Although Eastside (909 students) and Reagan (958) likely will fall in the Class 3A range for enrollment, both have petitioned to be grouped in 4A so they can continue competing against area schools.
On the road againWith transportation costs continuing to rise, a major concern for many schools is the proximity of their competition.
Wimberley, for example, was not happy when the UIL placed it in a district with schools from the Dallas-Fort Worth area in 2006.
Smithville and Fredericksburg are among the Central Texas high schools that consistently travel long distances to compete. Smithville's football team already resides in one of the toughest 3A districts in the state — joining the likes of La Grange, Sealy and Giddings — but there are so many 3A teams scattered across the region, ranging from Taylor to Caldwell, there's no telling where the Tigers might land.
"At the last realignment, we were trying to schedule games we could win in non-district," said Tigers football coach Justin Wiley. " This time around, I'll think we'll schedule non-district games that will make us better and get us prepared to play in whatever district we wind up in."
Fredericksburg football coach and athletic director Dean Herbort has been stretched in different directions, too. For the past two years, the football team has been in Region I, while the rest of Fredericksburg's teams competed in Region IV.
Herbort, like the rest of the state, will get his answers on Monday.
